Throughout his years in the NASCAR Cup Series, Bubba Wallace has been a driver who has taken his time to work around things. There have been ups and downs in his career, but since he joined 23XI Racing, and especially looking at this year, it is hard not to say that Wallace has been on a good trajectory.
Advertisement
Recently, speaking about Wallace’s learning curve within the sport, former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte shared his honest evaluation of the playoff driver. The analyst is impressed by the #23 driver’s growth in terms of performance, especially during the first playoff race at Darlington, among many other things.
Steve Letarte talks about Bubba Wallace’s learning curve in the Cup Series
While speaking on the NBC Sports Podcast, Steve Letarte stated, “Bubba, you know he has never shown the Bristol swagger to find those 20 points. That doesn’t mean people won’t back up to him and if he doesn’t advance that’s okay. I said about William Byron and I have the same opinion about Bubba Wallace. What we’re seeing is an evolution of a 29-year-old racecar driver.”
He further mentioned that Wallace had to learn how to manage his emotions in order to win races. Letarte also noted that the 23XI Racing driver had to stay focused throughout the regular season to make it to the playoffs, which he was able to accomplish.
“I will actually say that from behind the wheel, I’ve been very impressed. I thought he did a really nice job at Darlington, and he was driving a top-four car at Kansas and he had a flat tire…”
“His interview you could see was a little like, I call it noisy emotion. I’m not sure he could process it all and he was trying to be happy for his teammate… That’s okay and he’s figuring that out. But if Bubba doesn’t advance, there’s a lot learned in the last seven or eight weeks of his NASCAR season, that’s going to make Bubba Wallace a way better driver next year.”
Finally, Letarte expressed his belief that the 23XI Racing team has a bright future ahead of them, with a new building being constructed and Reddick’s recent victory. He also noted that Wallace is gaining valuable experience in the postseason, which he believes is a great move for the team.
Can Bubba Wallace make it to the next round of the playoffs?
Things have been changing drastically within the playoff competition. Drivers who were gunning for the championship two races ago, like Martin Truex Jr., are now hanging by a thread in the bottom four.
Amid all of this, looking at Wallace and how he has been performing, excluding his last race at Kansas, one could argue that he might have a slight chance of advancing forward. However, one cannot be too optimistic about the same, considering it’s his first ever playoff contention, and whatever he has done so far has been a significant improvement in his overall career.
Therefore, looking at the next race at Bristol, Wallace will look to give his best, although a win does look like a long shot for the ever-evolving 23XI Racing driver at this track. All his team can do is keep their fingers crossed and hope for the best at this stage.
